Hard Times is an extreme urban survival game where you have to put yourself into the shoes of a homeless man, taking on all the challenges that daily survival places in the great metropolis of indifference.

Early Access Game

Get instant access and start playing; get involved with this game as it develops.

Note: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you
should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“Hard Times (Tempi Duri) is Ivan Preziosi's solo project.The game is in Alpha stage and has been 3 years in development. I would like to start creating a community around it, to have some feedback and help about how to improve it. I would also like to improve the modding engine with some help and feedback from the community.Also 10% of any revenue from Hard Times will be donated to "L'alternativa ONLUS" a charity project which is developing and running homeless people support programs in Ostia Lido (Rome - Italy).Participate in this early access if you wish to support this project and get involved in the development process!”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“I'm planning on keeping Hard Times in early access phase for roughly six months, in which I will work with the community to gather feedback and design new content.
Since it is a personal solo project, being developed in my spare time after my daytime job, I can't provide a fully detailed road map. I will, nonetheless, be in touch with the community to get back feedback and improve the game.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The game it's still in Alpha stage and I would like to work with the community to improve it, design additional content and gather as much feedback as it's possible to make it grow into a final product.Most of the game mechanics have been developed, but I wanted to work with the community on how they feel and about how to improve them or even discard them and develop new ones. There are also new features that I would like to implement, test and improve with the help of the community:

Expand crafting and crafting trees

Expand cooking and cooking trees

Expand plant growing and more crop types

Expand fishing and more fish types

Design and implement new minigames

This is my plan, which can, of course, be changed based on the community feedback.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“The game, in it's current state, is in Alpha stage. It means there is a lot of work still to be done, to improve it, make it bug free, work on the modding system to finalize it and get feedbacks on new features or content to be added.Right now Hard Times provides a hard survival experience featuring:

Resource farming

Begging and pickpocketing people

Shoplifting and robbing

Police and thugs

Alcohol and Drugs

Animal Taming

Personal Hygiene and diseases

Full weather and temperature system

Hunger, stamina and many stats to micromanage

Fishing spots, baits and pasture creation

Shelter creation and furnitures creation

”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“Price could be a little higher after the early access phase will end.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“I would like to gather feedback and help from the community during the early access phase to improve and test out the game as a whole, while designing and developing new features. I will use the official game's Steam discussion board for that and I already have a Discord server where I can interact with people. Just head to the game website for contacts or use Steam to get in touch!”

Reviews

“The difficulty of the homeless's life is well suited to the genre, and the authors' personal experience is the basis for a video game that wants to be mechanically playful but also wants to denounce the indifference of society towards a parallel and invisible world that attracts our attention only for matters of decorum and public order.”WebTrek

About This Game

Hard Times is an extreme urban survival game where you have to put yourself into the shoes of a homeless man, taking on all the challenges that daily survival places in the great metropolis of indifference.

You will have to look into junk, beg for money, escape corrupt policemen and citizens maniac about decorum. You will feel hunger and cold. You will suffer in the long rainy nights and be glad when you can get a decent meal.

You will have to learn to build your own tools by yourself, craft and recycle objects to gain resources. You will make artifacts of all kinds, including furniture, work benchs, kitchens, beds, cardboard boxes, storage containers for your little treasures and much more.

You will probably have to give up your innocence to survive. Small thefts and looting will become a gesture of self-preservation, beyond any moral judgment. You will know the thrill of introducing into an abandoned property to take possession of it.

You can choose whether to become a squatter and build your base in the city, live in a homeless camp or move your stuff daily with a cart to sleep every night in a different place.

You will be hunting for rats and fishing radioactive fish to cook them in the live fire of an old rusty bin. You will contract illnesses, use drugs and experience on your skin as cold and indifferent the great metropolis can be for those who live Hard Times.

### 10% of all revenues created by this game will be donated to "L'alternativa Onlus" a charity ngo organization, active in homeless people support programs in the Ostia Lido (Rome - Italy) territory. ###

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

This game is a street life simulator and can depict crude situations, swearing and illegal actions.